>>>I don't know if you have heard or not, but Herb Alpert will soon be releasing a 60th Anniversary edition of the famed album, "Whipped Cream and Other Delights" ... The album itself will be pressed on green vinyl with the Whipped Cream girl herself on the picture disc. (GJ Kubat)
>>>Now WHAT on earth would make you think that I might be interested in something like that?!?!? (kk)
kk …
Do You Think -- In Honor Of The 60Th Anniversary --
That Maybe They Can Use Real Whipped Cream This Time?
FB
You should run that gorgeous album cover!
DIS
Yeah, I heard it was pretty hot! (kk)
From Tom Cuddy …
Four Queens, One Stage: Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and Stephanie Mills to Unite on Joint Tour
What’s next for the Dick Biondi film.
Any idea where it will be available to the public.
Glen Fisher
Doo Wop Revival
I put your question to Pam Pulice, the woman who has worked so diligently for the past eleven years to get this film made and out there for music fans to enjoy. (I know the original plan was to get it aired on PBS … and then available for home dvd release … but beyond that point, I really don’t know what the next steps will be.)
Here are her answers … ‘cause inquiring minds want to know!!! (kk)
Hi Kent,
It’s great as always to hear from you. Thanks so much for posting my great news about Dick’s movie. Can you believe, after 11 years, the film is DONE! Here is some extra news that you can share exclusively for your readers.
Bob Sirott has offered to host the film at WGN-TV if they choose to run it. The new CEO at WGN has the film in his possession, and we are waiting to hear back. Bob is the ideal host for Biondi’s story. As you know, Bob is the guy who brought Dick back to Chicago and to our delight, Dick never left. Thank you, Bob!
I’m also working with a Producer’s Rep who is an expert in distribution and the film festival circuit, Glen Reynolds from Circus Road Films in Studio City, CA. Once the film finds its distributor, it takes several months for it to air or stream, but things are working and we feel confident The VoiceThat Rocked America will be released in 2025.
While the film is fully licensed, we continue to fundraise to cover expenses for E&O insurance, DVD replication, poster prints, distribution and deliverables. DVDs and posters are rewards for our crowdfunding donors, but we cannot produce those until we find a distributor and we have the funding.
Special thanks to the folks at Donny G’s Ristorante in Elmwood Park and Vito D’Ambrosio from the Italian American Executives of Transportation (IAET) for hosting our Dinner & a Movie fundraiser this past Tuesday evening. The response was incredibly heartwarming. Rock and Roll Mayor Emeritus of Bolingbrook, Roger C. Claar, was on hand with his buddy, Angelo “Skip" Saviano, Mayor of Elmwood Park. I was grateful when Skip handed me a check. We are still counting donations coming in and hope to gain some new official sponsors.
We are in talks for our next fundraiser in June, 2025, at the Lyric Theatre in Blue Island. Details soon to come.
For folks who want to know what’s next for the Dick Biondi film project, please visit our website: https://www.dickbiondifilm.com/ where you can watch our trailer, connect with our social media and youtube channel, send us a message, and sign up for our email newsletter.
Kent, you know what a labor of love this project has been for me to honor the great Dick Biondi. What you don’t know is the impact it has had on me personally. Holy cow, talk about life changing! Like Dick says in the film, Don’t be afraid to follow your dreams. The importance of living your dream cannot be overstated. It’s happening to me, and for everyone who has supported my vision, I humbly thank you.
Warmest regards,
Pamela Enzweiler-Pulice
Director of The Voice That Rocked America
Website for Dick Biondi Film
Larry Tamblyn, a founding member of The Standells, passed away on Friday (3/21) No cause of death was given. He was 82.
The Standells hit pay dirt in 1966 with their classic recording of "Dirty Water." It is garage band music of the highest caliber and made The Top Ten in both Record World (#7) and Cash Box (#8), falling just short in Billboard, where it peaked at #11. (It was a #3 smash here in Chicago.)
You still hear it at Boston Red Sox baseball games, a tradition kicked of in 1998 ... reportedly, thanks to their song, The Charles River was finally cleaned up! ... and it ranked #757 on our list of THE TOP 3333 MOST ESSENTIAL CLASSIC ROCK SONGS OF ALL TIME. The Standells placed at #3 in our Forgotten Hits Readers Poll naming THE TOP 50 GARAGE BANDS OF ALL TIME. (You can view the complete list here: https://fhgaragebands.blogspot.com/)
And who can forget their appearance on "The Munsters?!?!?"
In theory, they're about the least likely "garage band" you could imagine ...
Their lead vocalist of the band was Dick Dodd, who previously starred on Walt Disney's "Mickey Mouse Club!!!" ...
And the band was produced by Ed Cobb of the squeaky-clean Four Preps!!!
Yet that opening guitar riff just drew you in ... and a Garage Band Classic was born. (kk)
Also passing away on Friday was boxing great George Foreman.
The Olympic Gold Medalist was deemed unbeatable ... a mountain of a man ... and during his reign as Heavyweight Champion of the World, Foreman took on all challengers ... including a couple of explosive knock-outs of former champ Joe Frazier as well as a memorable bout with Ken Norton ...
But it was Muhammad Ali's "Rope-A-Dope" technique that put Foreman to the mat when Ali simply ran the champion out of gas. (It also allowed Ali to reclaim the heavyweight title.)
In all, Foreman amassed a career record of 76-5, 68 of those wins coming by way of a knock-out. (Several of those bouts came well after his boxing prowess had expired.) I had the opportunity to watch him train at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas many, many years ago ... he was massive! He was able to win his title back at the age of 45 against Michael Moorer.
In addition to his boxing skills, Foreman was a real personable talk show guest ... and will always be remembered for plugging his Foreman Grill. (Well, that and naming ALL five of his sons George!) I mean, who didn't own of these?!?!
Thanks for some great boxing memories, big guy! (kk)
An interesting couple of things came out with all the research on 'The Winter Dance Party Tour, 1959.'
One of the big things was regarding the plane crash on February 3, 1959, that killed Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper.
a). It seemed that Buddy Holly had an aggressive passion for wanting to be the one to fly the plane, when there was an opportunity.
b). Buddy Holly's pals from Texas and band mates knew of Buddy's passion and wanted nothing to do with being in a plane with him.
c). That night, February 3, 1959, his pals {Tommy Allsup and Waylon Jennings} from Texas didn't want to be in a plane or on the plane with Buddy, so they found other band mates, that would.
d). That night, February 3, 1959, after being told / assigned to sit in the back seat by the owner of the plane, Buddy made sure that he ended up in the front seat next to the Pilot.
e). From that point on, there was never any further communication from inside the airplane that night as they taxied, departed, and flew back over the Mason City airport to the Northwest.
{It should be noted that Buddy Holly's gun was found on the frozen farm field. Ritchie Valens didn't have a gun, the Big Bopper didn't have a gun, and certainly not the Pilot}
'The Winter Dance Party Tour - 1959'
Nashville Screenplay Competition - 2025
Writers: L J Coon / Donna L Cleaves
{169 pages / 42,266 words and detailed historic photos}
Something more sinister took place in that airplane
Buddy Holly was never meant to have been seated in the front seat of the airplane. Buddy Holly managed to switch places with The Big Bopper. Buddy Holly had his own needs, his reasons to “control” as to why he insisted on swapping seats from the back into the front of the airplane that night.
That night, February 3, 1959, Tommy Allsup and Waylon Jennings wanted nothing to do with getting in another airplane with their Texas pal and tour mate, Buddy Holly.
Allsup and Jennings needed to recruit someone, any one of the other tour members that would fly with Buddy Holly. They found Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper.
Show #9 on this tour:
18-year old Robert Zimmerman {Bob Dylan} was right in the front row during Show #9 (of the scheduled 24 shows) on 'The Winter Dance Party Tour – 1959.'
Show #9 was in Duluth, MN, at The Duluth Armory (SATURDAY JANUARY 31, 1959) 8:00 pm to 12 am. Of course “Bob Dylan” was 'Robert Zimmerman' at that time in his life!
L J
L J Coon
LJ has devoted YEARS to researching this crash … and this is
new information he has come up with – do we wanted us to share it with the
group. (kk)
We covered the history of the song “Get Together” a long time ago in Forgotten Hits, but after the passing of Jesse Colin Young last week, it bears repeating …
And Best Classic Bands does a fine job of doing so here:
https://bestclassicbands.com/youngbloods-get-together-release-6-21-17/
Young didn’t write this song … and the story of who did … and who ended up reaping the benefits from it … is quite an interesting one. (kk)
Happy Birthday 🎈🎂! to Ursula Andress and Bruce Willis. Ursula was at the trendy Drai's and Bruce was in Westwood Village. He was helping Calif. Gov. Gray Davis to get young folks out to vote.
Jim Roup
Yippee Ki Yay, Bruce!
I just watched Ursula Andress in the Elvis movie “Fun In Acapulco” the other day. (You know Elvis had a bevy of beauties surrounding him in all of his films, not unlike James Bond … Ursula managed to appear with BOTH ‘60’s sex symbols!) kk
You (or somebody) had that last (colour) photo from the British Motown tour before ... Mr. Gordy is smack in the middle behind Smokey.
Bob Frable
1965 was the first Motown Tour … but that’s not to say that this particular color photo came from that tour. (I can’t even imagine that Berry Gordy would have missed the chance to see his stars shine brightly on British soil! You can clearly see him front and center in that first black and white photo as well.) There was also talk going around at the time about possibly making some recordings while they were there … Berry wanted to see the famous Abbey Road Studios up close and personal! A far cry from the Motown studio, I’m sure!
When we do these random photo searches for our calendar series, we’re often at the mercy of how they’re identified online … we fact-check what we can but, as you know, the facts have become quite scrambled in the sixty years since. My main goal is to have them be at least representative of the era … and the subject matter at hand. There are times when we just have to use what’s available to us to best illustrate the times. (kk)
Here’s a Doughboy follow-up from Chuck Buell ...
You are not alone when it comes to a traumatizing experience of opening a handy, pressurized tube of Dinner Biscuits!
Since I wrote about the Pillsbury Dough Boy in Forgotten Hits the other day, a few have shared with me their uncomfortable, shuddering feeling they get while waiting for that split second when a tube of biscuits suddenly pops open! It's been described as an expected/unexpected sharp feeling that occurs from not knowing exactly when that will happen!
Neither science nor the medical community have a word for this precise condition. It's best been commonly referred to as "CBA" or "Canned Biscuit Anxiety!"
The only suggestion I have that might provide you with some possible "Biscuit Tube Opening" relief may be singing the brief, attached musical refrain when waiting for when one of those specialized tubes of biscuits decides to "POP" open!
Then, take two hot biscuits tonight with your personally-desired amount of butter and, maybe some jam or jelly, and call me in the morning! Good luck!
CB ( which stands for "Canned-Biscuit Boy!" )
Also from Chuck … (can we say he's on a roll???)
And the Forgotten Hits Award this week for "Best Line That Nails It So Perfectly, Concisely and Succinctly" for her phrase, "Drop-kicked us into puberty" goes to . . . . .
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano!!
Shelly couldn't be with us today because of the possibility that winning might bring back stressful, pre-adolescent memories like when a clump of her hair just wouldn't behave and yelling,
"I Look Terrible! My Life is Over!!"
CB ( which, nevertheless, stands for "Congratulations Boy!" )
One more ...
[DO NOT ATTEMPT AT HOME!!!]
And then, finally, one more from Chuck saluting the Forgotten Hits Trio of he, she and me ... wait a minute ... which one am I???
How THAT for a Little Boost to Get Your Weekend Going?!
It’s An Amazing Interlude rumored to have been inspired by a little number we just happened to see, put on by Forgotten Hitters Kent Kotal, Shelly Sweet-Tufano, and Chuck Buell!
Amazing!
CB!
Janet Jackson has pulled out of her scheduled appearance at The Cincinnati Music Festival due to “personal matters.” Promoters of the three day fest are scrambling to find her replacement.
Jackson is currently performing in Las Vegas as part of her residency there thru the end of May.
In a statement to her fans, Ms. Jackson said:
To all my Cincinnati Music Festival fans … I’m so sorry that I won’t be able to be with you all in July. Some personal matters have come up and I am unable to attend. I look forward to seeing you all soon!”
Jackson headlined this same event in 2022 and was scheduled to perform on July 26th. (kk)
kk ...
Just Finished Listening To Cousin Brucie Interviewing Lou Christie.
Lou Grew Up On A Farm In Pennsylvania.
The First Song He Ever Wrote Was Also His First Hit: "THE GYPSY CRIED."
Lou Just Recorded The 1940's Classic "DREAM."
No More Concerts For Lou Christie.
Like So Many Others, It's The Traveling.
His Book, "LIGHTNING STRIKES," Is Just About Finished.
He Said He's Including Pictures Of His Fans That He Has Collected Over The Years.
That's Something Different.
FB
I'm sorry to hear about Lou not doing any more live performances ... I saw him in concert a few years ago and he was still in fine voice ... a very talented artist. (I tried to get him considered for The Happy Together Tour ... he would have made the PERFECT candidate ... go out there and sing four or five of your hits, backed by a killer "house band" ... and it would have given them a chance to finally shake up their line-up a little bit instead of presenting the same group of artists year after year after year ... a win/win for everybody concerned. But it was evidently an agency thing ... all of the artists performing on The Happy Together work thru Paradise Booking Agency ... and Lou does not ... so it never had a chance of happening. Too bad ... it would have made for a GREAT show. (kk)
Last Thursday, March 20th, marked the five year anniversary of the passing of Kenny Rogers.
Our tribute series to Kenny is another one that we have recently resurrected and updated …
You can find it here: https://fhkennyrogers.blogspot.com/
And one more new posting ...
For years after we published The Top 200 #1 Records of The Beatle Years we were asked by readers to put together a similar list spotlighting the Top 200 Biggest #1 Records of the '70's.
It's a unique perspective ... because all of the point are tabulated based on the TOTAL number of weeks each record spent at #1 in all three major trade publications. (Billboard, Cash Box and Record World)
Since we've slowly been revamping everything out there, we decided to finally tackle this project, too ...
And I am happy to say that it was just completed (and the winner won by a landslide ... bigger than ANY other record of the rock era to that point in time, 1955 - 1979 ... 25 Years of Rock History.)
[Now watch ... the NEXT project you'll all want to see is a ranking of ALL of the #1 Records for that 25 Year Period ... hey, you know what ... I'd kinda like to see that list myself!!! lol]
Anyway, for now you can view our latest effort ...
THE TOP 200 #1 HITS OF THE '70's
Right here: https://fhtop200no170s.blogspot.com/
60 YEARS AGO TODAY:
3/23/65 - Gemini 3 is launched. It is the first US two-man space flight (Astronauts Grissom & Young)
